The Risk of Becoming Homeless in Hennepin County: A Quantitative Analysis of the Recession’s Impact on Family Homelessness and Service Use

Abstract

This study examines risk factors associated with family homelessness in Hennepin County and how these factors changed as a result of the recession. Existing research suggests that structural components such as housing markets, unemployment, and poverty can all exacerbate personal issues and put vulnerable populations at higher risk of homelessness. Rising shelter caseloads since 2007 suggest that the recession has worsened the problem of housing instability for families in Hennepin County. Drawing from administrative data on 79,297 families who were on Minnesota Food Support and 6,798 families who entered a publicly funded Hennepin County shelter between 2004 and 2011, this study uses a Cox Proportional Hazard model to analyze the determinants of entering shelter from food support before and during the recession. It also provides an overview of the prevention assistance initiatives and the environmental context that homeless families encountered over the last several years.